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American Horror Story: Murder House

After we read “The Furnished Room” by O Henry I couldn’t help but relate that story to the one and only Murder House. The season begins like any other horror story would, setting an ominous mood surrounding the large forsaken house. Followed by the classic do not enter warning but of course no one decides to listen, sentencing themselves to death.  Similar to “the Furnished Room” the house has had generations of a vast variety of inhabitants over the years, all leaving either mark, trinkets, or ghost behind behind. I thought it was extremely ironic how the main characters Tate and Violet fell in love, blurring the line between life and death until she succumbs to the dark side without realizing it. This follows the poetic theme of dying with the one you love or in the same place, just as Poe and O Henry described within their stories.  Another horror trope that was painfully obvious is how there’s always that one character that is painfully in denial. That character is usually a man and AHS didn’t let us down as the husband and father refused to believe a house could be evil. Ignoring every warning since the first episode, damning him and his family.  Which moves us onto the next horror element; Men only see what they want to see. The house undertaker Moira is an outdated older woman but whenever a man looks at her he sees her former younger self, creating lust and desire. Towards the end of the season when Men, the husband/father realizes the power this house holds over himself and his family he finally sees Moira as her true self. He sees the truth.  I think this is one of the first horror TV shows to ever successfully pull off a story that continuously captivated the audience for longer than two hours, adding just enough abnormal to the story line to keep you coming back for more.